Twitter has updated its app to make it easier to switch between the algorithmically scheduled startup timeline and the feed that shows the "latest" tweets. Usually when users want to move between timelines, they have to tap the "star" icon at the top right of the screen, and if you want to return to the previous list, click on the same icon again. But starting today on iOS, tapping that icon will offer the option to pin the start and end timelines to your post page. Twitter, to facilitate the two types of view.
Twitter, with this update, makes the option to view recent posts "more visible and intuitive to use". It also reduces confusion by making it easier to see which timeline you're currently scrolling through.
The change comes at a time when regulatory pressure on tech companies has increased over their algorithmic recommendation systems and a lack of transparency around their inner workings. For example, a bipartisan group of US lawmakers introduced the Filter Bubble Transparency Act, which would require tech companies to offer a version of their platforms that doesn't leverage user data to make recommendations. The bill wants to give users the option to disable the tech company's recommendation algorithms if they choose.
Instagram has since promised to reintroduce a chronological feed option (or technically, a reverse chronological stream, if we want to be precise).
Twitter, however, had already offered that option, although some users may not have known it existed. This last change may help display the feature better: the glowing icon is in the same place as before, but it's meant to Twitter be easier to use.
In addition to supporting user choice, a "latest" feed is also the kind of tool people turn to in a breaking news situation, when immediacy of information is more critical than an algorithmic suggestion from the "better" content that can cause that news to be lost. For example, this is particularly useful now in the midst of the Russian-Ukrainian war, where people are relying on social media apps to get the latest news on what's happening on the ground.
Twitter had begun publicly testing this feature in late 2021. The company said feedback was positive, so it decided to send it out more widely.
At launch, the feature is iOS-only, but will "soon" roll out to both Android and the web. Pressed for more specificity on that date, Twitter could only promise that it would be "in the next few weeks."
